How to Get a Dealer License in Maryland: Cost & Requirements

Last updated: August 18, 2026

Maryland front-loads the paperwork and back-loads the cost. The licence is $900 — but it runs three years, and the surety bond for a new used dealer starts at just $15,000, the lowest entry bond in this series. What Maryland actually asks for is a stack of approvals from other offices: a trader’s license from the Circuit Court, a zoning form signed by your county, a site inspection, and a dealer orientation you must attend before the licence is issued.

The Bond Scales With Your Volume

This is the part that gets quoted wrong most often. Maryland does not have one dealer bond amount — it has a schedule keyed to the number of vehicles you sold or project to sell. For a used vehicle dealer:

Vehicles sold / projected	Bond amount
1–250	$15,000
251–500	$25,000
501–1,000	$35,000
1,001–2,500	$50,000
Over 2,500	$150,000

A first-year dealer projecting well under 250 sales posts $15,000. Wholesale dealers follow the identical schedule; new vehicle dealers start higher, at $50,000. The bond must be in the full name of the dealership including any trade name, and must list every officer, partner or owner exactly as they appear on the application.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Used vehicle dealer license	$900	Three-year term, new and renewal
Wholesale vehicle dealer license	$1,050	Three years
Motorcycle dealer license	$270	Three years
Interchangeable dealer tag	$150 each	Three years; needs a liability certificate
Salesman’s license	$225	Three years; one gratis license per dealer license fee paid
Surety bond	$15,000 and up	Sliding scale — see above
Maryland LLC	$100	$150 expedited; SDAT annual return $300

Because the licence is a three-year term, the $900 works out to $300 a year — which reads very differently from the annual figures other states charge. Compare the term, not just the number.

The Approvals You Get From Someone Other Than the MVA

Maryland’s packet is unusual in how much of it is issued by other offices. Budget time, not just money:

• Trader’s license — obtained from the Circuit Court in the jurisdiction where your business sits. A copy is required in the packet.
• Zoning Approval Form (CS-053) — taken to the Zoning Board in your county or city, where a representative completes the lower portion.
• SDAT verification that you are registered to do business in Maryland, with both corporate and trade names registered.
• Repair facility contract (CS-125) — if you have no repair facilities on site, you need a contract with a repair facility within 5 miles of your dealership.
• Criminal background check (CS-011) for every applicant — plus a record from any other state you have lived in within the last year.
• Workers’ compensation certificate, or an exemption certificate from the Workers’ Compensation Commission if you have no employees.
• Liability insurance certificate naming the MVA as certificate holder — required before you can use interchangeable dealer plates.
• ERT contract with an Electronic Registration and Titling vendor, required of all new licensees except wholesale dealers.

Two more gates sit at the end: a dealer orientation (CS-303) you must attend before a license can be issued, and a site inspection in which an MVA Compliance Inspector visits your location to check it against COMAR before Business Licensing gives final approval.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Register the entity with SDAT, corporate name and trade name both.
2. Get the trader’s license from your Circuit Court.
3. Take the zoning form (CS-053) to your county or city Zoning Board for signature.
4. Line up the repair facility contract if you have no shop on site — it must be within 5 miles.
5. Bind the bond at the tier matching your projected sales, in the dealership’s full legal and trade name.
6. Submit CS-042 with the $900 fee through the myMVA Business Portal, request the orientation, and schedule the site inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cars can I sell in Maryland without a dealer license?

Two. Maryland’s Transportation Article defines a dealer to include a person who during any 12-month period offers to sell three or more vehicles whose ownership was acquired for resale purposes. It is a rolling 12 months, not a calendar year, and the test turns on why you acquired the vehicles.

How much does a Maryland dealer license cost?

$900 for a used vehicle dealer license, and that covers three years rather than one. Interchangeable dealer tags are $150 each for the same three-year term, and a salesman’s license is $225 for three years. Wholesale dealers pay $1,050. One gratis salesman’s license is issued per dealer license fee paid.

How big does the Maryland dealer bond have to be?

It scales with the number of vehicles you sold or project to sell. A used vehicle dealer selling 1 to 250 vehicles posts $15,000; 251 to 500 is $25,000; 501 to 1,000 is $35,000; 1,001 to 2,500 is $50,000; and over 2,500 is $150,000. Most first-year dealers land in the $15,000 tier.

Do I need a trader’s license as well as a Maryland dealer license?

Yes. A copy of a trader’s license obtained from the Circuit Court in the jurisdiction where your business is located is a required part of the MVA application packet. It is a separate, county-level license, and the MVA will not process your dealer application without it.

Taxes, the SDAT annual return, licensing and hiring are covered in our full guide to starting a business in Maryland.

Sources

Source	What It Covers
MVA Business Licensing Packet — Dealer’s License	Full bond schedule by volume, three-year fee table, salesman fees, trader’s license, zoning form CS-053, repair facility contract CS-125, orientation CS-303, site inspection, background check CS-011, ERT, insurance
Maryland MVA — Used Vehicle Dealer License	Volume-based bond rule, monthly online dealer orientation, MVA Investigator site inspection
Md. Code, Transportation § 15-101	Definition of dealer — three or more vehicles in any 12-month period acquired for resale